This was a big week in marketing, as the Super Bowl shined a spotlight on the best and worst of advertising (read my recap here) and there were big announcements on everything from Diet Coke’s bold reimagining of bottle design, to Amazon’s retail ambitions that are shaking up an entire industry. In this weeks issue of Non-Obvious Insights, I’ll share these stories as well as what they might mean for the future of business itself. I hope you enjoy this new weekly series on the Influential Marketing Blog!

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Diet Coke’s Million Bottle Experiment …

Starting this month, US based consumers will be able to buy Diet Coke bottles customized through an inventive packaging process and an algorithm developed by HP to millions of completely unique bottle designs. It is another example of how extreme personalization is steadily shifting consumer expectations around how unique and different every experience must be.Read the full story >>

The Grammys Use Embedded GoPros …

When music’s most popular stars take the stage next month to accept the industry’s biggest honor, viewers at home will get an up close look at their joy via new “Grammycams.” These GoPro cameras embedded into the bottom of the award statues are a bold experiment but will also introduce a new intimate experience of live TV that we may soon see in everything from live sports to late night TV.Read the full story >>

The Budweiser Plug Heard Around The World …

When the Super Bowl game finished and the ads were over, Budweiser got one of the biggest branded Super Bowl plugs from a winning player since Phil Simms first declared he was “going to Disney World” after winning the big game in 1987. It turns out the plug may have broken lots of FTC guidelines, though, sparking a big debate and perhaps leading to new rules around branded sponsorships themselves.Read the full story >>

Amazon’s No Employee, No Checkout Vision Of Retail …

When Amazon launched its first retail bookstore in Seattle earlier this year, it sent a wave of panic through the retail industry. This week they announced plans to launch 300 to 400 more locations that may sell far more than books – and sell them without needing checkout kiosks or employees at all. This intriguing future of retail is one that anyone interested in consumer behaviour or the future of business should be watching closely.Read the full story >>

5 Techniques To Help You Skim More And Read Less …

As a business author and idea collector, I buy and skim a lot of books. I have never really quantified the approach I use though – but author and leadership coach Peter Bregman does in this wonderful short post about how to read a book a week by using some simple techniques any one can use. Useful insights, not hard to do, and definitely worth your time to read his five quick tips.Read the full story >>

How are these articles chosen?

Every week I review hundreds of articles to curate the best stories of the week – and share some quick insights about why they matter for business and marketing. I call these “Non-Obvious Insights” and this is the third week I am sharing them. If you would like to see these insights a full day before anyone else, please join my email subscriber list here to get the insights every Thursday morning directly in your email inbox!